I used to go to open mikes sometimes, but I quit going to one place because it seemed to attract a bunch of people who thought performing was all about THEM. Lots of mediocre-to-bad kids would get up to perform, usually either singing their diaries or covering tired old rock and folk-rock tunes very badly. The "performers" were having a great time, even when the audience was leaving in droves, but it was so obviously just ego-tripping (HEY, LOOK AT ME! I'M ON STAGE!) One kid in particular brought groans every time he showed up — which was almost always. He screamed the same five self-penned "songs" every week and each song sounded exactly like all the others, spending five to seven minutes on each song. (The OM rules call for 15 minutes each.) One night he asked my opinion of his set, so I told him he should learn that performing is about the audience, not the performer. He looked at me blankly and said: "What do you mean? If I'm enjoying it, that should make everybody happy."

I never went back to see if he was pulling my old leg or if he really didn't get it.

david